The Kindness of Love - Week 20

1 Corinthians 13:4a

4a Love is patient and kind;

What does it mean that love is kind? Love is useful, helpful, always looking for an opportunity to do good. Perhaps one good example of how this is lived out is in the story of the "good" samaritan. (Luke 10:25-37)

Jesus was being questioned by a lawyer who was trying to trick Him or make Him say something contrary to the law of Moses. "Teacher, what shall I do to ineherit eternal life?" Jesus responded by asking him about his interpretation, first, to which he replied with what we would call the summary of the moral law, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." Jesus told the man that he answered correctly and admonished him to live according to what he, himself had said. But this man wanting to justify his own actions asked Jesus to explain to him who his neighbor really is.  Jesus responded by telling the story of the "good" samaritan.

"A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" He said, "The one who showed him mercy." And Jesus said to him, "You go, and do likewise."

Although the word Paul uses for kindness and the words used by Jesus in this story are not the same Greek words, we could argue that the spirit of kindness and mercy are very akin to one another. In the OT, God's kindness is often seen while also speaking of His mercy. Twice in Isaiah chapter 54 are the two put together. In verse 8, Isaiah says "...But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you," and again in verse 10, "For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord who has mercy on you." (NKJV) Jesus above says that the Samaritan had compassion on the man he saw left for dead on the side of the road. We could render it that he had tender mercies for the man. Paul uses the same word when speaking of how Christians should relate to one another by putting on tender mercies towards one another, as well as kindness, humility, meekness, and longsuffering. (Col 3:12-13, NKJV) His tender mercy towards this man was the initial beginning of their brief encounter, but it is what he does next that puts action to his emotion.

It is all too easy to feel compassion or tender mercy for someone in great need. The priest and the levite could have felt compassion for the man, but they did not do anything for him. However, love is an action that should follow tender mercy or compassion, and the action showed by the Samaritan is best described as kindness. He bound his wounds, set him on his own donkey, took him to a place where he could be cared for, and paid for his care from his own pocket.

Jesus asked His inquisitor, who wanted to be justified in himself, which one of these three proved to be a neighbor to this bruised and beaten man? If Jesus asked you the same question, what would you say? Have you ever been in a position to have mercy and show kindness to someone but did not render assistance? We can be certain that perhaps this young lawyer had a similar situation in which he did not assist, because Jesus never gave object lessons like this without bringing much conviction upon those who were just trying to make themselves look good. Perhaps this man was the levite in the story. We cannot know for sure. But what we can know for sure is that this man went away now knowing who his neighbor is, and that he was not justified in the sight of God by his own keeping of the law.

As men, we need to be helpful, useful, ready to render assistance. We need to be ready to act on feelings of compassion. We should never brush them away or try to ignore or suppress compassion. Rather we should cultivate compassion. It is very contrary to our nature to have compassion, but if we would be like our Savior, who had great compassion and tender mercy towards us, then we must have the same toward our fellow man, especially towards those in the household of faith. (Gal 6:10)

 

Assignment:

1.  Continue to work on memorization of 1 Corinthians 13.

2.  Memorize Col 3:12-13 in the New King James Version.

3.  Journal about times in which you have shown compassion.  If you can remember a time when you did not show kindness when you should have, write about that as well.

4.  Jot down some ways that you could show more kindness to the people closest to you.

The Patience of Love - Week 19

1 Corinthians 13:4a

4a Love is patient and kind;

In Matthew 18:23-35, we find a parable of Jesus in which He told the story of a king who was settling accounts with his servants. One of his servants owed him more money than he could ever hope to repay. It was so great an amount it is rather unfathomable to imagine anyone being in debt that far. Nevertheless, this servant owed his master that much. Now, naturally the servant begs for mercy and even promises to pay all that is owed if only the king will have patience with him. Out of pity for him, the master released from him the whole debt.

If that were the end of the story, it would be great. What a show of compassion and mercy! What a feeling it must have been for the servant to have had all of his debt forgiven! You would think that the servant would run through the streets and give praise to his master and his life would change forever. Yet, Jesus continues, the servant met up with someone who owed him a relatively small sum. "So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt." You, my reader, will immediately sense a welling up of moral outrage over this. How could the first man, whose insurmountable debt was completely forgiven, not forgive his fellow servant a few dollars? But wait, the story is not over yet. The master learns of this and calls his servant to him and said, "'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt." In the end, this wicked servant died miserably in prison because he could not forgive his brother and could never pay his debt.

As it comes to loving our fellow man, we must recognize that by nature, we would choke any one's neck who owed a debt to us, or who we believe wronged us, or offended us. The greatest sins committed are the ones committed against us, right? Our own sins are small in insignificant compared to others, right? WRONG! We have the same debt hanging over our heads as this servant did. We owe more than we could ever repay. And Matthew Henry pointed out, we do not owe what we owe to an equal. We owe what we owe to an infinite God. We do not calculate what we think He is owed. He calculates our obligation. And from His perspective, it is more than we can possibly imagine.

But the same God who is infinitely offended by our sins is also infinite in mercy and grace. This infinitude of God's mercy and grace is often called in the Bible, long suffering or fore bearing. And Paul here in this chapter on love begins his definition of love with that very sentiment.

Think of it this way: love bears offenses until judgment renders the verdict. There will be a day of reckoning with our Creator God and He withholds His judgment until then. That is why the Bible says that He suffers long. But He will one day render that judgment and His patience will be at an end for those who are wicked and ungodly.

Now think in terms of someone who has wronged you. Imagine that you hold your feelings, emotions, and even words until the offense is brought to light. For most of us, if not all of us, we feel wronged from the word go. There is no time we reserve until we begin to feel badly about it. Now imagine not bringing it up to the other person's attention, and also not sulking, stewing, or in any way holding a grudge or withholding friendliness from them until they realize their offense. Your immediate thought may be that they will never realize it if you do not bring it up. That may be true. But if a Christian brother does not realize he has offended you, perhaps it is best to forget about it. It could be that they will realize it many years down the road. In any case, is it really that offensive?

However, if it really is offensive and you just cannot bear with the person, a judgment will usually be rendered. Either you go to the person and tell them of the offense, and they judge that they have been in the wrong and ask your forgiveness, or through the biblical approach of Matthew 18:15-20, you involve the elders of the church to render a judgment of the offense. But in all that time before the judgment is rendered, you are supposed to suffer long in love. If you do not love the person who wronged you and bear with them through the process, how are you different from them? How is your offense less than theirs?

The bottom line of being patient as it pertains to love is that we bear with each other, just as God has been patient, merciful, and gracious with us. If we do not bear with one another, how can we expect Him to bear with us? John Newton wrote these words in 1779, ("One there is, Above all others.")

Could we bear from one another,

What He daily bears from us?

Yet this glorious Friend and Brother,

Loves us though we treat Him thus:

Though for good we render ill,

He accounts us brethren still.

Assignments:

1.  Continue to memorize 1 Cor 13. You may work ahead as we will memorize the whole chapter.

2.  Journal about the greatest offense committed against you. Write about how you handled it and what the result was. Hint: It is okay to be critical of yourself!

3.  Journal about how you have offended God. Hint: Start with each of the 10 commandments and write about how you have broken each one. You may have to consult the catechisms in order to list how you have broken some of the commandments.

4.  Look up the John Newton hymn from above and contemplate the rest of the song. Journal about how it exemplifies being patient in love.

A More Excellent Way - Week 18

1 Corinthians 12:31b - 13:3

12:31b And I will show you a still more excellent way. 13:1 If i speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Perhaps the most difficult thing to do as a man is to love. And perhaps that should be qualified. It is rather easy for a man to fall in love with his own desires and things that gratify his own nature. Selfish "love" abounds in the heart of a man. Now, we put love in quotes because it is not really love, but is rather lust. Self-lust is the exact opposite of love. It should be no wonder to us that the world promotes this brand of love over real love. Self-lust is the pinnacle of human sin and is a commodity all men, in their deadness of heart and soul, seek after with a vengeance.

And obviously self-lust does not go away just because we call ourselves Christians. Paul here describes six different persons exercising real spiritual gifts. The first is a person who can speak in tongues; an early manifestation of the Holy Spirit that was necessary to preach the gospel to the nations. The second is one who utters prophecy. The third is one who is wise in the Divine wisdom of God. The fourth is a person who can exercise great faith. The fifth is someone who is extraordinarily generous, and the sixth is a person who can willingly become a martyr for the faith. Yet in all of these circumstances, Paul suggests it is possible that each person could be doing these things without real love as their motivation. This does not mean that these acts do not produce good things in the Church of God, because in the end God is sovereign and can work all of these things for the good of His people. (Rom 8:28) However, Paul is clearly stating that it will not be for the good of the person exercising the gifts.

Paul is not speaking from obscurity here, as if it is not possible for someone to exercise spiritual gifts, yet not be regenerated by the Spirit.  Jesus says that there will be those who claim their own salvation by reminding Him on the Day of Judgment all the good works they did in His name. His response, "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." (Mt 7:22-23) Not only is it possible that men can deceitfully do mighty works in the Church of God, but it is an all too sad reality from the very beginning of the ancient church right up to our own day that men can do great things in the Church, yet be sons of their father, the devil. And should the Lord tarry, we can expect that many will play the part; those who do great works among us motivated by their own self-love.

So you see that everything you do in your service to God as a man of God must be motivated by love of God, not love of self, or even love of any other person. It is not impossible for any man to serve others for man's approval and not God's. (Gal 1:10) This is desiring the love of other men more than the love of God. Rather, our actions must be the result of the love of God shown to us, and His love springing up in us. (1 Joh 2:4-6, 4:8-10)

What does that love look like? We will take that up in the next several weeks of contemplations.

Assignment:

1.  Memorize 1 Cor 13:1-3.

2.  Journal about the ways in which you believe you love God.

3.  Journal about the ways in which you believe you 'love' yourself (self-lust).

4.  Write down a prayer of forgiveness for your self-lust, specifically citing all of the things you wrote in your journal about and pray it each day of this week.

Act Like Men - Week 17

I Corinthians 16:13-14

13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love.

In these two small verses we see a familiar refrain. We have talked about being watchful, standing firm, and being strong. And verse 14 also hearkens us back to Micah 6:8; doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly. The phrase in the middle is what we want to focus on.

If we look at the Greek text of verse 13, it is only seven words long with two of those being part of the prepositional phrase in the faith. Literally translated, the whole verse goes like this: "Be awake, stand firm in the faith, be manly, be strengthened." We might also add that this is spoken to the second person plural meaning that he is speaking to you all and that each of these are commands.

There is a building up to a climax in this phrase that should tell us a lot about acting like men. First, a man is awake. He is alert. He is not slouched over in his chair in a stupor being half awake and half asleep. He is sober. He does not dull his senses by unnecessary amusements or distractions. He is not lazy, but industrious. Now before the objections arise about leisure and recreation, we should say that there is a time for these things as well. But a man who is awake and alert to his situation knows when those times are and knows when to return to work. Remember, the Lord placed us on this earth to work. Even before the fall, we were to be caretakers of our surroundings. It is just that sin made this work harder than it would have been, and it also makes us want to be lazy. (Prov 6:6-11)

Second, and we have spoken about this at length before; a man is to stand firm in the faith. Before, we spoke of a battle stance of remaining on our feet, ready to do battle. But Paul joins faith to the stance here, and not just any faith, but the faith. Therefore, being watchful, alert, awake, and standing firm is not just founded upon our own strength of will, our ideals, our morals, or our own fortitude. We do all these things with the faith in mind. This faith is spoken of in many places by Paul, but consider what Jude says in verse 3, "Beloved, although I was eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints." It is not just any faith, it is the faith. And it is not a myth or a legend, but has definite origins and specific recipients. This faith that was once for all delivered is a singular system of doctrine, which although it has become broader and more definitive, it is as much the same faith, as a child is the same person in his childhood as he is in his adulthood. This is the faith in which we are to stand firm.

Thirdly, he commands that you, yourself be a man. You are to conduct yourself as a man. Paul says, "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways." (1 Cor 13:11) Your actions are to comport with that which is a man. All of the things we have described here apply, but let us add this: be as God intended. We are made in His image. He created us to subdue the earth and to exercise a godly, but derived authority over creation. This means that we do not have autonomous authority to do as we please on the earth, but we are to care for our surroundings and use them as He created them. The Psalmist says, "... You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas." (Ps 8:5-8) We have been made a little lower than the heavenly beings, but we are positionally above all other created things. This gives us great responsibility, but it also means that we should take care to conduct ourselves according to the created order; never apologizing for it, never compromising with those who would usurp it, and never abdicating our proper place in it.

Lastly, Paul commands us to be strengthened. Now, there are many ways to be strengthened in the body and in the spirit. In the body, we eat, we work, and we exercise. All of these help to strengthen us. In the spirit, we worship, we meditate on God's Word, we pray, and we participate in the Lord's Table. This sounds easy, but when it comes down to it, as with physical exercise, it is not always pleasant.

Worshiping, hearing the gospel, reading, singing, and praying God's Word, and taking part in the Sacraments cannot be undervalued. However, there is something else here that takes on a higher plane when it comes to being strengthened. These exercises are mostly done within our churches and our own homes. To be sure, we wrestle plenty with dark spiritual powers just in these realms. But these are rather like the practice arena. Where is our resolve really tested? Where do we find the greatest difficulty taking up the cross of Christ? From whence do many foes advance to attack us? The world has not, is not, and never will be a friendly place for our faith. Did not Jude just explain why he was writing his letter to the saints, so that they could strenously oppose the enemies of the faith? We are being strengthened so that we may be strongly resolved in our faith when these trials by fire come.

Therefore, being alert, battle ready, standing firm in our faith, and taking up our part as men, culminates in our being strengthened. But nothing tests our resolve like waging this battle... in love. Being a strong man-warrior for God is one thing. Doing it with love is another thing entirely. Love is the most crucial attribute of God's warrior, without which we are only noisy children acting a part.

Assignment:

1.  Memorize 1 Cor 16:13-14.

2.  Journal about what you believe is the hardest part of becoming a man.

3.  Write down all your current career choices. Consider how your possible future vocation will help fulfill your becoming a godly man.

Prayer... Rehearsing the Battle Plan - Week 16

Ephesians 6:16-18

16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

As Paul continues the military metaphor, he comes to a most crucial aspect of battle readiness. He is not simply introducing another concept, but ties together the conflict with a vigorous and vigilant stance in prayer.

Praying at all times. In another place Paul wrote, "Pray without ceasing." (1 Thess 5:17) It is not difficult to understand that Paul means in everything we do, especially as it comes to this spiritual battle, we should be in prayer. Some men in times past have taken this to the extreme, particularly monks, praying for many days at a time. However, one must have a vocation, nurture and care for his family, and do service for others. All of these are commanded by Scripture, so Paul is not trying to place the priority of prayer over all other things that men must do.

Rather, think in terms of breathing. The average adult takes between 17,280 and 28,800 breaths per day. Most of these breaths go unnoticed. They are part of our autonomic nervous system, so we usually do not have to focus on breathing. Now, there are times for prayer. It is not as if we never have to make time to pray. We certainly do and should pray during times of public and private worship. But what Paul is getting at here by saying that we should pray at all times is that we should make prayer a part of our thinking, doing, and living. It should come as naturally as breathing. We should be praying whenever a thought comes into our minds or when we stop to contemplate anything. Just as you are reading this sentence, you can pray to the Lord for wisdom and understanding, or thanking Him that you are benefiting from this exercise, or asking His forgiveness moment by moment for your sins of omission and commission, or praying for someone when they come to mind.

Paul was a tentmaker by trade. Making tents and working with the materials would allow one to speak to others as he is doing it, or speak to God if no one was around. We can imagine the prayer life of Paul as being a constant stream of water flowing over rocks in a brook. That is how he is telling us to pray. Let prayer spring up by the Spirit within us and flow at all times and in all circumstances. That is the vigor by which we may stand in the battle.

But he also joins to this vigor a command to keep watch. But this is not just a sleepy watch in the waning hours of the night, when the sentry dozes in and out of sleep.  It is a watch with strength, courageousness, endurance, and steadfastness. This is a watchman who constantly rehearses the battle plan, making sure he is ready to fulfill his duty and complete his mission. This is a watchman who is alert, seeing everything, making sure that all is safe and well. And why should we be keeping this sort of watch? Because our enemy is constantly trying to find a chink in our armor and weakness in our defenses. And this is not only for us, but Paul says we should be praying for our fellow soldiers in the Lord. We are to keep ever on the lookout for each other, praying that not only we would stand in the heat of battle, but that our brothers, sisters, fathers, and mothers would also stay strong in the Lord. We are to pray always for our own strength and that of our fellows.

Yet at least one thing more must be said of this. We could have a never ending stream of prayers flowing from us, but if we do not believe that Christ also prays on our behalf, or that He will not do as His word says, then our prayers will never be effective. In other words, the prayer that is not from faith will never accomplish the task. The writer of Hebrews says, "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him." (Heb 11:6) James says that we do not have because we do not ask, or perhaps that we ask amiss. (Jas 4:3) Therefore, our prayers must be in faith and we must believe that the Lord is faithful and that He will fight for us. As Andrew Murray put it,

"Beware, in your prayer, above everything, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do. Expect unexpected things, 'above all that we ask or think.' Each time you intercede, be quiet first and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do, of how He delights to hear Christ, of your place in Christ, and expect great things."

Assignment:

1. Memorize Hebrews 11:6. Continue to work on the rest of your memory verses.

2. Spend some time in real prayer, perhaps writing it down, or making a list of things to pray about, or people to pray for.

3. Pray specifically for strength and endurance to pray and to fight in the spiritual battle.

The Offensive Weapon of the LORD - Week 15

Ephesians 6:16-17

16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,

The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit.

In your mind's eye, probably one of the most splendid aspects of the warrior you've been imagining is what his sword looks like. The sword is possibly the consumate example of what every boy dreams of as an elegant and most fearsome weapon. Even in today's world, even with today's awesome weaponry, the heart of the warrior still beats for a sword. Be it Aragorn's Andúril from The Lord of the Rings, or King Arthur's Excalibur, or even Luke's lightsaber from Star Wars, the sword will always captivate the attention.

But as captivating as these weapons are, there is nothing so powerfully wielded as the Word of God. This word was spoken, "Be light," and there was light. Light did not exist except in the mind of an all-knowing and all-seeing God, who simply speaks it forth, and it was. It was the same with everything else created. It was not, then it was, because God spoke it into existence. We cannot fathom that kind of power. While we may wish that we could just speak the word, and whatever we wanted just appeared, as in a magic act; yet, we cannot imagine anything that has never existed. Our minds are finite in that capacity, whereas God's is infinite.

This power of the spoken word was never more effective than when the prophets spoke what God commanded. In fact, when a man's word was not enough, God even caused a donkey to speak. (Num 22:22-34) But Jesus wielded His own word more powerfully than all others put together. When He was tempted in the wilderness by satan, it was the word of God Jesus used in order to confound him. (Mt 4:1-11) When He healed the lame man, He spoke the words. (Lk 5:17-26) When He healed the Centurion's servant, He did not even have to see the paralyzed man, but just spoke the words. (Mt 8:5-13) When He was nailed to the cross, it was His words, "It is finished," that signaled the defeat of our soul's enemy. (Joh 19:29-30) And on top of all of this, Jesus commanded His disciples to teach and preach all the things He taught them. In other words, He taught them how to handle this powerful sword.

Additionally, this sword of the Spirit is the only weapon Paul lists here that is offensive in nature. This means that wielding this sword will strike blows on our enemy, but will also be a weapon our enemy will defend against. Our enemy is as close as our breath. We fight ourselves, that is, our flesh. We also face the enemy of the world, and of course, there is our main adversary, the devil. These three entities will defend themselves against the word of God. They will try to make it of no effect, and ridicule it, and pervert it, and twist it. They will attempt to take it out of our hands. So, that means we must keep a firm grip of it, and keep it always near.

But this sword has been used on us, as well. The writer of Hebrews also says, "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Heb 4:12) That means this sword has been used to slay us. The word of God shows us how rebellious we have been towards a thrice holy God and cuts us to the quick. It lays bare all of our most inmost thoughts and intentions.

And finally, John describes the Lord Jesus as He appeared to John on his island of exile. "In His right hand He held seven stars, from His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and His face was like the sun shining in full strength." (Rev 1:16) When John saw Jesus, He saw the same powerful weapon coming from His mouth that Paul speaks of here. If Jesus needs the sword of the Spirit to conquer His enemies and ours, then we need it even more desperately if we are to fend off our foes. They are already conquered by Him. And all we have to do to remind them they are conquered, and more importantly, to remind ourselves that we are more than conquerors (Rom 8:31-39), is to have our swords at the ready, fully trained on how to use them, to His glory.

Assignment:

1.  Memorize Hebrews 4:12. Continue working on all your other memory verses.
2.  Read John's description of Jesus in Revelation 1. Write down your thoughts about this description.
3.  Read Rom 8:31-39. Write down some of the worst things that can happen to you as a human being. Compare these to what Paul describes as tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, and sword. Pray specifically about these asking God to help you in your fight to remember that you are more than a conqueror.

The Helm of Salvation - Week 14

Ephesians 6:16-17

16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,

The helm of salvation, as it has been called (helm being short for helmet), gives a true sense of where the center of our salvation is. The center of salvation is our head. But what do I mean? Is it our head knowledge or mental assent to the gospel that saves us? We talked before of the head being the seat of knowledge, and with it, we have our senses all in one place. We see, hear, taste, and smell, all with the parts of our head suited for those purposes. And all these senses are awakened as it comes to the gospel. Our head, that is, our knowledge and senses are important to salvation.  However, the Bible is clear that our heart is the center of the saving work of Christ; and it is there, along with the gospel, that salvation is made clear to the sinner. So, which of these is true? Is salvation connected to the heart or the head? The answer is both.  But which is central?

Perhaps we should look at this a bit differently. Who or what is our head? Paul speaks of Christ as "head of the church, His body, and is Himself its Savior," (Eph 5:23) He writes this just one chapter before placing that Head in his list of spiritual armor. Now, it would be perfectly fine to say that all of these elements of armor in Ephesians 6 are tied to Christ. But this piece of armor is especially so. It is in this connection that we are speaking of our Head being central to salvation; that Head being Christ.

Man was created under authority. He is by no means autonomous, meaning that he is his own authority and answers to no one. God created us to do whatsoever He commands. In the Garden, we disobeyed and a curse was placed upon us. This curse, which was caused by our own sin, has greatly multiplied our desire to overthrow any authority, but more especially, God's authority. It is, therefore, extremely important to salvation that our Head, that is, Christ, be the authority we listen to on the battlefield.

Generals and commanders were normally put central on the battlefield so that their orders could be clearly heard and disseminated throughout the ranks. They controlled the battle from the center. The helm of a ship is placed centrally as the seat of authority aboard the vessel. The captain gives orders to the helmsman to steer the ship where he wants it to go. The helm of salvation, the authority of Christ, is the crucial piece of armor we need in order be controlled by Christ, instead of relying on our own control.

Isaiah says, "He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then His own arm brought Him salvation, and His righteousness upheld Him. He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped Himself in zeal as a cloak." (Isa. 59:16-17). Is this not what Paul has in mind here? Christ, Himself, has put on a breastplate of righteousness and a helmet of salvation.  He is fit for battle, just as He wants us to be. But as we said before, He has won the victory over these principalities and powers and evil rulers in the spiritual realm. Our faith in Him places Him as our helmet of salvation, the seat of power in our lives.

Assignment:

1.  Memorize Isaiah 59:16-17 and continue to work on all your other memory verses.

2.  Journal about the entities of authority you have in your life, i.e., parents, church, school, job. How do you operate under authority? Are there ways you try to overthrow authority?

3.  Look again at your warrior picture? How does this change your visual picture of his helmet?

Faith... Our Shield - Week 13

Ephesians 6:16

16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;

A warrior without a shield is usually a dead warrior. There are few instances in which a man could survive that kind combat without having his shield as a defensive weapon. This was especially true if he were trying to lay siege to a fortress. The fortress towers and walls were usually fortified with archers who would rain down arrows on all foes attempting to breach their perimeter.

Of course, if a warrior was so weakened by the battle that he could not bear his shield up any longer, then, even with a shield, he would likely fall.

The shield of faith, as we said before, is a 360 degree protection from all sorts of attacks. We also said that there is no angle from which the devil will not attack.  Being more precise, we should say that he cannot attack from below. If our battle stance is upright, on our feet, and ready with gospel shoes, there is no way he can attack from the Rock on which we stand.

But that brings up a good point. Christ is the Rock on which we stand (Psa 18:2). Further, we know that when we are established on this Rock, we will never be shaken, not like the man who built his house on sand (Mt 7:24-26). Even further, this Rock is the foundation on which the Church stands (Mt 16:17-18). Faith and belief in Christ and His Word is the truest foundation that has ever been built (1 Cor 3:11). This is the ground on which we stand. This is the firm foundation for our feet in the battle against principalities and powers of this evil age.  Therefore, we will never worry about an attack coming from our feet.  Remembering Psalm 1, we are firmly planted like a tree by streams of water.

Paul says that we are to take up this shield in all circumstances. That shows us two things from what we have seen so far, 1) there is never a time when the devil will not try to attack us and there is no angle from which he will not try, and 2) our faith will most definitely fend off all of those attacks. Now, this is not because our faith is so strong. Our faith is weak, when it comes right down to it. Rather, what matters is in Whom we have faith. Christ is the object of our faith and he has already defeated satan. Therefore, when we take up the faith-shield (which is a gift of God, Eph 2:8), it is powerfully wielded by Christ who has already won the victory. "For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1 John 5:4-5). We overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil by our belief, that is, our faith in Jesus Christ; that He is who He says He is, and that He is the rewarder of those who seek Him (Heb 11:6).

In all circumstances, if we believe in Jesus, and that He has saved us from our sins, and overcome the world on our behalf, then there is no fiery dart that can ever penetrate to harm us.

Assignment:

1.  Continue to work on this passage and add 1 John 5:4-5.

2.  Journal about the directions from whence the devil has tried to shoot you. Hint: these are the areas in which you are most tempted to sin. Jot down how you believe faith in Christ can help you overcome these temptations.

3.  Look at your warrior picture. How does this change your visual picture of his shield?

The Feet of a Warrior - Week 12

Ephesians 6:14-15

14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

For as long as men have been taking part in battles, they have had to come up with a solution for a very simple problem... their feet. And as technologically advanced as we believe ourselves to be, the modern soldier still has to make the care of his feet a very high priority. After all, if one cannot run or walk or stand, he is going to make a pretty easy target.

But as it comes to the "beautiful feet" of one who bears good news (Isa 52:7, Rom 10:15), there are not degrees of effectiveness, as in, your feet only hurt a little, or they are strong enough to survive to the end of the day, but tomorrow you will have to be carried into the fray. Your feet are either fitted with the gospel of peace, or they are not. You are either ready with your gospel shoes on, or you are not.

The enemy wants us to be immobile. If we cannot run away, then he has us right where he wants us. This is our condition in sin. Think of the slough of despond from Pilgrim's Progress that Christian had to muddle through. That obstacle cannot be easily escaped. However, having our feet shod with the gospel of peace means that we have understood our condition before a holy God.  We know that in order for us to avoid that deadly bog altogether, we have come to a full acknowledgement of our sins, and total recognition of our need of a Savior. These gospel shoes represent peace with God; that we have had our sins forgiven. And the guilt of Adam's sins and that of our own are no longer as a toilsome burden on our backs, but have been taken to the cross and nailed to it by our loving Lord (Col 2:13-15).

On this battlefield, there are many swamps of despair, as it were. Christians have always had to deal with these traps laid by the evil one. The glorious nature of this part of our armor is that it allows us to quickly escape these devices of the devil, or even better, avoid them altogether. These shoes run swiftly as we are told the Word of God runs swiftly (Psa 147:15).

However, what we must remember is that these shoes must be put on daily. Our feet are not clad with these shoes at one specific time and for the rest of time. We must constantly remind ourselves of the gospel. We must take the gospel with us everywhere we go, just as our feet go with us everywhere. The war rages, the fog of war envelopes, the confusion of war astounds. The gospel is the clarion call from the supreme commander. The gospel holds all His instructions, and His words of encouragement, and His power and authority over these forces of darkness. Our feet, that is our day to day walking in this world, must be informed by the gospel. Otherwise, we will not be able to avoid the pitfalls of satan. He will draw us into the pit and keep our soul mired in guilt and sin. The gospel has raised us up from that pit, and we must ever keep it before us so that we never sink into it again.

Take care of your feet and they will take care of you is an old maxim. The same is true with the gospel only it goes a bit differently. "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved." (Acts 16:31, Rom 10:9)

Assignment:

1.  Continue memorizing this Ephesians passage but also add Colossians 2:13-15. This passage will remind you that your trespasses have been nailed to the cross, and that Jesus in this action has disarmed and triumphed over both His and your enemies.

2.  Journal about any times you believe you have been overcome by the guilt of your sin and how you may have been, like Christian from Pilgrim's Progress, in the slough of despond.

3.  Follow this link to a search on the word gospel. Jot down any that you believe will help you put on your gospel shoes every day.

The Christian Man's Coat of Arms - Week 11

Ephesians 6:14

14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

Breastplates were often emblazoned with a royal seal, or coat of arms, or some other insignia. It is not clear when this practice of personalizing ones armor came into being, but the oldest known breastplates date back to the 15th century BC. So, imagine what the breastplate of righteousness would carry as its royal seal, or coat of arms. This breastplate is not emblazoned with our own name or family crest, but the Name which is above every name. The Lord Jesus Christ, our righteousness, is engraved on the breastplate. His royal seal shines forth as the King of Kings and LORD of Lords. By our baptism, we carry this seal and sign of the Lord Jesus, that we are engaged to be His (WSC, Q. 94.)

But aside from all this heraldry, what does this piece of armor perform in our war against the spiritual powers of darkness. 

Having spoken already of the belt of truth and how it covers our inward and intimate parts, so the breastplate of righteousness covers the seat of our souls - our hearts. Since we are putting on spiritual armor, it should be assumed that our hearts are not the natural hearts we were born with; those desperately wicked, unknowable ones. If we are spiritual, (as in, we have the Holy Spirit) then we have had our heart changed, as we have spoken of before. As the prophet Ezekiel has told us, the LORD replaced our hearts of stone with a heart of flesh; (Ezek 11:14-21) a heart that has been turned from sinning against God unto one that looks, by faith, to Christ for salvation. The heart is not itself righteous, as if it is infused by Christ's righteousness and made righteous. But the righteousness of Christ is imputed to the heart, to us, (that is, the sin of our hearts is exchanged for Christ's righteousness) and by this action, Christ's righteousness becomes a covering for us.

Paul considered his own righteousness as garbage, rubbish, refuse (Phil 3:8). Why would anyone want to cover themselves with such? The answer is, we would. We are constantly puffing out our chests and boasting of our own achievements before the Lord. Such is our attitude when pride and sin remain unchecked. We replace His breastplate with our own, emblazoned with our own seal. But when we cover ourselves with our own righteousness, the enemy has a straight shot to our hearts. There is nothing whatsoever to protect our hearts from a fatal blow. Therefore, if we wish to survive this battle, we must put on Christ's righteous breastplate. It will keep us from our own pride and puffing out of our chests, and protect our hearts from all danger.

The shining breastplate of Christ's righteousness is far more beautiful, strong, and protective; more effective than anything else we could put on, and it protects our hearts completely in the battle that wages around us.

Assignment:

1. Continue memorizing. Refresh your memory of Proverbs 4:20-27.

2. Take a look at the picture of the warrior you either found or drew. How do you imagine the breastplate differently in light of this discussion? Jot down the differences in your journal.

3. Journal about some of the things you do that may tend to puff you up and make you consider yourself righteous. Write down ideas about how to overcome those attitudes.

To Thine Own Self Be True - Week 10

Ephesians 6:14a
14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth

There are many anomalies to be observed when the world talks about truth. For instance, there is a popular notion that what may be true for you is not necessary true for someone else. By the very definition of truth, that notion does not hold water. If it is true for me, yet not true for someone else, then either it is not true for me, or the other man is not admitting the truth. The classic example these days is that all religions of the world are equally true. By the very nature of some of them, Christianity being one, this statement is harmfully false. 

Christianity makes specific claims that are exclusive. The reason we are called Christian is because we follow Christ. Christ said of Himself, He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6), and that no one comes to the Father (that is, God) except through Himself. Other religions, Islam for example, claim to worship the one true god. They would also claim some form of salvation through that god. However, according to Scripture, they can never be reconciled to their Creator because they deny Christ. All the religions of the world in some form or fashion have at their basis a denial of Christ.

Yet, if the common notion above is accepted, then this is simply true only for the Christian, which is equal to the truth of the Muslim. This is exactly what the spiritual enemy wants.

You remember what he did in the Garden of Eden? He seduced Eve by words of equivocation, just as he, through the world, is saying today. "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" (Gen 3:1). Satan knew that God commanded them to eat of every tree, except for the one, yet he phrased the question in such a way as to make God sound like He was too restrictive; that what He was providing was not adequate in some way. To make matters worse, the devil lied to Eve and told her she would become wise in the world, and that she could be like God. This same lie is being spun to this day.

The enemy of our souls continues to whisper, "Did God actually say..." And further than that, he gets the world to join in the chorus. After all, the truth of the devil is just as true as the truth of Christ. They just do not see eye to eye. They have adopted a live and let live attitude, right? WRONG. Satan was already defeated ages ago. Yet sin is still in the world and crouches at the door of our hearts. The ancient enemy is still roaming to and fro like a hungry lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Pet 5:8). The only defense against the lies of satan is the truth of God.

We said before that the lies of the devil are often aimed right for our innermost and intimate parts. His main goal is to set your heart and mind against God. That is why the Psalmist said, "I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you," (Psalm 119:11). The devil intends to break in and steal any truth that exists in your heart. He tried the same thing with Jesus when tempting Him in the wilderness. Yet Jesus stored up the Word of God within His heart, and He was able to thwart the devil by the truth of God.

Another great comfort for us is that, not only is this belt of truth a spiritual weapon made powerful by the Spirit, but the same Holy Spirit has been promised to guide us into all truth (John 16:13).  That does not mean that we, personally, somehow have a corner on the truth, as if we never sin, or never believe a lie, or tell a lie, or always have the truth on our side.  Peter says that sometimes men (all men may fall into this category), who are ignorant and unstable, twist the scriptures to their own destruction (2 Pet 3:16). However, what it does mean is that the Holy Spirit will guide US into all truth. Jesus was speaking to His disciples saying, "you all," that is, the Holy Spirit will guide you all into all truth.  Who is 'you all'? His Church.  There is, therefore, a Spirit guided truth in the Church.  This does not mean that the Church cannot and does not err. But it does mean that there is truth and that the Holy Spirit guides the Church to that truth; so that anywhere the Spirit's truth is, there is a true Church. As we are a part of the true Church, we stand as an army with truth-belts on, ready to withstand the lies of the enemy.

However, as the devil's is a divide and conquer strategy, we must be as true as we can be in ourselves. Shakespeare's Polonius said to his son, Laertes, "To thine ownself be true." Many take this to mean that you should not deceive yourself. That is certainly true. But you should not also not let yourself be deceived by any other. Believe the truth always. If there is deception, we know it is not from God. Therefore, storing up the truth in our hearts is the only way we can be true to ourselves, to our brothers and sisters, and most importantly, to God.

Assignment:

1.  Continue to work on memorization. Memorize also Psalm 119:11.

2.  Read 2 Thessalonians 2. Journal about the battle for the truth in this passage and how it may relate to something you have experienced or that you may have heard of someone experiencing.

3.  Read Luke 4:1-13. Note how Jesus thwarted satan's attempts to tempt him to sin. See if you can find in your Bible the scriptures Jesus is quoting.

Stand Up, Stand Firm - Week 9

Ephesians 6:13-17
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,

We said before that Paul is talking about the whole armor of God because any one piece of this armor by itself does not properly equip the man for the defense of his soul. In verse 13 he began with ‘therefore,’ which would mean he is adding a conclusion or consequence to what was previously said. The previous message we have already learned. There is a battle going on. It is not against flesh and blood, but against a diabolical, spiritual enemy who wants to destroy our souls. We have also said that these pieces of armor are designed to defend us on all sides; to protect us from every angle of attack.

But Paul repeats the word 'stand' here 4 times, signifying our battle stance. We are not lying down. We are not on our backs. We are not sitting, we are not reclining. We are to be in a constant state of readiness, on our feet, ready to do battle.

Perhaps the military strategist would disagree. We need to keep a low profile. We need to crouch or to lie in wait. We need to put on our spiritual Ghillie suits and wait for the enemy to show his silhouette. However, we have no spiritual sniper rifle. We cannot do battle from afar. Our weapons are close combat weapons. When we do battle, it is up close and personal. Whenever battle is this close, we cannot be on our backs. We have to be standing, dug in, ready.

One of the best ways to defeat a knight was to use his heavy armor and weapons against him. The victor was usually the one who could bear his armor and the other man’s blows and still remain standing, while making the other man tired, worn out, and off balance. With that much physical battle it was difficult to remain on your feet after striking blows and taking them as well. The good news for us is that our armor is perfectly balanced so that the enemy cannot knock us down, though we are perfectly able of falling down on our own - remember pride?

But the other piece of this is our source of strength, which we contemplated at length previously, as the power of Christ in His Holy Spirit. And, we should say further, our source is the Holy Spirit, but it is not like a battery that runs dry or a power source that dissipates into nothing. The Holy Spirit in us is a renewable energy source. In physical battle, if a man is not well nourished and well hydrated, and if he is in poor physical condition, he will not last very long. His strength may only be renewed by rest and nourishment. Hollywood usually portrays battles to continue for what seems to be hours, and we do not see our heroes rest and get food and drink. But our strength is renewed. The prophet Isaiah wrote so poetically,

     28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
     The LORD is the everlasting God,

     the Creator of the ends of the earth.

     He does not faint or grow weary;

     His understanding is unsearchable.

     29 He gives power to the faint,

     and to him who has no might He increases strength.

     30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,

     and young men shall fall exhausted;

     31 but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;

     they shall mount up with wings like eagles;

     they shall run and not be weary;

     they shall walk and not faint.

     Isaiah 40:28-31

How is it that our strength will be renewed? We said for physical battle we need rest and sustenance. Isaiah says here that those who wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength. What does it mean to wait? The LORD knows our frailty and He knows that we are weak to continue to stand firm. He knows we get faint of faith and weary of doing good. But He, in His infinite wisdom, has given us both rest and sustenance in this life. He gives us one day in seven to rest, and provides us heavenly food in both Word and Sacrament on that day. To wait upon Him means to worship Him in spirit and truth, and to believe that He gives good gifts to us in the gospel, and in the outward and sensible signs; these are the very means of grace and great strength. He washes our battle wounds with the water of the Word, He cleanses us from head to foot of all of our sin and unrighteousness, and He strengthens us in the inner man by the table He sets before us.

With this kind of rest and sustenance, even as we are worn down from standing firm and being ready at all times, we will not be caught completely unawares, our souls will not be dealt mortal blows, and we will certainly not be abandoned by the Captain of our Salvation, but we will be equipped with great strength when the attack comes most fiercely. And we shall overcome. We are promised that we shall be more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Rom 8:37).

Therefore… we shall stand, and stand firmly.

Assignment:

1.  Continue to read and memorize Ephesians 6:13-17, but also review 10-12.

2.  Read the full chapter of Isaiah 40. It may be familiar to you because of Handel’s Messiah, as several of the arias and choruses are taken from this chapter. If you have this music, listen to it and contemplate the great message of the gospel. Journal about the different attributes of God in chapter 40. Hint: There are several themes here: strength, tender care, almighty power, infinite wisdom.

3.  Memorize also Isaiah 40:28-31.

4.  Journal about how you may be looking at worship and the Lord’s Day differently now that we have discussed our renewal of strength in the Holy Spirit.

The Whole Armor of God - Week 8

Ephesians 6:13-17
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,

The whole armor of God is very beautifully described here by Paul. He takes the various pieces of physical armor and matches them up to the most powerful themes of the Christian life, so listed: truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, and the Word of God. We will discuss the individual pieces in the next several contemplations, but we need to focus at first on the whole armor itself.

Because Paul uses the words "whole armor," he is not, then, referring to the individual pieces by themselves, as if any one of these by itself could properly defend the soul. The medieval knights wore a suit of armor, describing their head to foot battle attire. A suit of armor covers the whole man, especially covering those places most vulnerable to mortal blows. The sections of the "soul" here covered by Paul are described as the midsection, the chest, the feet, the back (or any other part of the body that would be exposed to arrows), and the head.

It is difficult to place these parts of the soul into perspective, if that is Paul's meaning. If there are parts to the soul, Paul probably would have defined them here. Rather, he is matching up these great themes of the Christian life to the places the enemy might choose to attack. Does the enemy attack truth? Does the devil try to tear down righteousness? Does he attempt to thwart the gospel? Does he not constantly barrage our faith? Will he not try to destroy our salvation? And does he not, above all, hate and fear the Word of God? This whole armor, then, as Calvin puts it, prepares us on all sides and gives us arms to repel every kind of attack.

But let us look at this a bit closer. How is the truth like our midsection? The most intimate parts of our selves are housed in what the King James Version translated as our loins. Paul also talks about the bowels of mercy in Colossians 3:12, or to that which we might refer crudely as guts, the innermost and intimate parts of the soul; the place were we are known only to ourselves. The enemy would obviously like to shake us here. He would like us to think that no one knows or sees our most inward thoughts and motives. Here is where the truth is most important. If we believe a lie here, it will be the most destructive. Jeremiah says the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked (Jer 17:9). Therefore the truth about ourselves, the truth about God, the truth about everything in the world, must ever be before us - a light shining brighter every day - so that by this, we may protect ourselves from the lies of the enemy.

How does righteousness refer to our chest? It may in this way. When a man is proud, he often puffs out his chest. Perhaps he may even beat it and let everyone know how great he is. Paul here is saying that righteousness must cover our "chest", but to whose righteousness is he referring? Isaiah says that our righteousness is like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). So why would we want to put on filthy rags with otherwise glorious and beautiful armor? He would not. He is referring to the righteousness of Christ. The righteousness of Christ is the only garment that can keep us from puffing out our chests and being proud of our own actions in the faith. It will also keep us from putting on the filthy rags which will not stop a single mortal blow from the enemy.

How does the gospel refer to our feet? Here Paul is most likely thinking, as he quoted in his letter to the Romans (10:15), about the prophecy of Isaiah. "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion 'Your God reigns.'" (Isaiah 52:7) In Romans 10, Paul is talking about how faith in Christ comes. He ends by saying that faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. But how does that word come? It comes by the preaching of the gospel. We will talk about the Word-Sword later on, but what he is undoubtedly saying about this piece of armor is that the gospel must go with us constantly when we engage in battle with the evil one. Your feet go everywhere with you, so must the gospel of peace as shoes you put on.

When talking about the shield of faith, we are speaking of a defensive weapon that can be used actively and passively to protect us from various attacks. The shield could be worn in such a way as to protect the back from arrows, thus it would be passive. The shield could also be placed in front, normally attached to the hand or forearm to protect the body from frontal assaults. It could be at our side or over our head. It should be thought of, then, as a 360 degree protection from all sorts of attacks. Paul is here referring to the way faith is attacked from all sides by the flaming arrows of the devil. He comes at us from behind, beside, before, and above. There is no place from whence he will not try. Attacking our faith means that he is trying to get us to disbelieve God. We know he has been doing that from the beginning. So faith protects us from arrows of doubt and disbelief.

The helmet and the head go together next, and it is associated with salvation. Perhaps here Paul is referring to our knowing what is going on in the battle. The head, or the brain, is the seat of knowledge. It carries the eyes, ears, and speech of the body. With it we can see, hear, and communicate on the field of battle. The head is then quite important when it comes to knowing where to go, hearing the commands from the battle generals, and acknowledging those commands and passing them along. So what does this have to do with salvation. First, we see salvation. We see our own sinfulness and need of a savior. We see a savior who has died for us and risen again. We see these things by faith, but we also have sensible signs given to us in the sacraments of the Church. Second, we hear with our ears the gospel. And third, we speak with our mouths the confession of our hearts of belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. The helmet of salvation, then, is knowing on whose side we are fighting, and to whom we owe allegiance and fealty. With this helmet, we will never be swayed to join forces with the enemy, or desert our Lord on the field of battle.

All of these parts of our soul must be protected and kept ready at all times. We will look further to each separate piece of armor in the coming weeks.

Assignment:

1.  Memorize the Scripture passage.

2.  Look at each of these aspects of armor and what is being protected. Journal about how you believe the enemy has attacked you, or the Christian world in general, at every point.

3.  Find a picture of a warrior or even draw one with these elements of armor. Let that picture come to mind when you memorize the passage.

Be Strong in the LORD - Week 7

Ephesians 6:10-12
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Strength is most important to a man. Men since the beginning have desired to show their strength over their fellow men. Often it was a combination of their own physical strength and their ability to sway others to their cause, so that with a great following of other men, they could enforce their will upon weaker people. This is how men rose to power over tribes, villages, cities, nations, and kingdoms.

The Bible speaks of strong men. Joshua and Caleb were strong men. They fought mightily in the armies of the LORD. Samson was a strong man. He was a judge of Israel between the time of Joshua and the appointment of the kings. David, though perhaps small before he slew Goliath, became very strong in vanquishing the enemies of Israel. All of these men; anywhere strength is spoken of in the Old Testament, it is often written that, "The Spirit of the LORD came upon them." Their strength was from the LORD. Without this strength from the LORD, many a strong man perished. But when God fought for them and gave them strength, they never lost. When the LORD fought for them and made them strong, their enemies came at them one way and retreated 7 ways. "One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the LORD your God who fights for you, just as He promised you." (Joshua 23:10)

And there was no stronger man than Jesus. Jesus once asked the question, "How can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?" (Mt 12:29). He was speaking here of taking over Satan's dominion, which is the exact thing Paul is talking about in Ephesians chapter 6. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." Jesus came to bind that strong man in his own house. And knowing He, Himself did that by His atoning work on the cross, and by His resurrection from the dead, He can, through Paul, tell us to be strong in the LORD and in the strength of His might. The only way to true strength is if the LORD is on our side. Or, perhaps to put it the most correct way, if we are on His side. If we are on God's side, we are strong and we will never be shaken, because we are in His kingdom that cannot be shaken (Heb 12:28).

But we are only strong when the LORD is with us; when the Spirit of the LORD comes upon us. The difference between we men now, and Joshua, Caleb, Samson, and David of old, is that we have the promised Holy Spirit at all times. We do not have to wait for the Spirit to come upon us, if we are Christ's, then we have His Spirit now (Rom 8:9). He dwells within us once He replaces our hearts of stone with a heart of flesh (1 Cor 3:16). This is the only way we can be strong.

However, it is also clear from this passage in Ephesians 6, that though strong, we are still vulnerable. We must put on the whole armor of God if we are to withstand the schemes of the devil. When we were in the camp of the enemy, we did not have to fight with him and he took no notice of us. This is the difference between those who are in Christ and those who are not. When we became part of God's kingdom, and stopped our rebellion against Him, this is when the enemy took notice of us, and this is why Paul says we wrestle not against flesh and blood. When we were in the enemy camp, we were dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph 2:4-6). The enemy wanted to keep us in our graves, but the Spirit made us alive and translated us from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of His beloved Son (Col 1:13). Now we are spiritually alive instead of dead. Now the enemy must fight with us because we are alive. And though alive, we are only effective against the enemy if we take up the whole armor of God. We will take the next several weeks to delve into these pieces of armor.

May God keep us strong as we learn about these things.

Assignment:

1.  Memorize Ephesians 6:10-12.

2.  Read Judges 13-16, this is the story of Samson. Journal about how you believe Samson used his strength either foolishly, or courageously. Journal also about what you believe Samson's greatest weaknesses were.

3.  Journal about what you believe the enemy is using against you in your individual battles of life. List your weaknesses and pray about them, asking the Lord for strength to overcome them.